This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Handler apparatuses are used to transport electronic components and devices, such as integrated circuit (IC) devices. Such apparatuses are commonly used to transport such components to and from a testing apparatus that assesses a component's performance. In this regard, a handler is used to insert the component into a test socket of a testing apparatus, such as an electrical tester. Such electrical testers are often used to determine various performance-related characteristics.
Many currently available test techniques perform testing before the wafers on which the devices are arranged have been diced and sorted. However, dicing and sorting can affect reliability, and also performing testing after such processes is costly and takes additional time. As die thickness decreases, the risk for damage caused by dicing and handling increases. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide an improved testing and handler mechanism allowing for parallel testing in order to lower cost, improve reliability, and potentially avoid the need for human intervention in transporting components from a test station to a final packaging station.